Meet our Team
Krista Chandler
Professor
University of Windsor
Dr. Chandler has been a Faculty member in the Kinesiology Department at the University of Windsor (Ontario, Canada) since 1999, specializing in sport, exercise and performance psychology. She is the co-director of the Sport Psychology and Physical Activity Research Collaborative.
In addition to her teaching and research (specializing in mental imagery and mental skills training), Dr. Chandler works with individuals striving to enhance their sport performance through the use of mental training. She is a member of the Canadian Sport Psychology Association (CSPA) and has counseled both able-bodied athletes and athletes with a disability from the recreational through to the Olympic level. In this respect, Krista traveled to Beijing in 2008 with the Canadian Paralympic Boccia and Swimming teams and staged with the Canadian Paralympic Swim team prior to the London 2012 Games. She has traveled with sport teams to the Para Pan American Games, World Championships and various International Competitions. She has also worked with Ontario Hockey League teams, PGA golfers, and national figure skating and track and field athletes.
As both an athlete and a coaching professional, Dr. Chandler recognizes the importance of staying well informed of new developments in research and consulting techniques. She has an active funded research program to ensure that the individuals with whom she works are able to use every tool possible to achieve peak performance.
Todd Loughead
Professor
University of Windsor
Dr. Loughead is co-director of the Sport Psychology and Physical Activity Research Collaborative at the University of Windsor. He has been a Faculty member in the Department of Kinesiology since 2005, specializing in sport, exercise, and performance psychology.
At the university, Dr. Loughead teaches courses and investigates topics related to applied sport psychology, leadership, and team dynamics. Dr. Loughead has consulted with both able-bodied and Paralympic coaches, sport teams, and individual athletes at the local, provincial, Olympic, and professional levels. In particular, he has worked with Sledge Team Ontario, where many of the players graduated to Team Canada. In addition, he has consulted with many coaches and elite level athletes including professional golfers, Junior A hockey players, track and field athletes, and collegiate coaches and players. Dr. Loughead is a member of the Canadian Sport Psychology Association (CSPA), Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), Canadian Society for Psychomotor Learning and Sport Psychology (SCAPPS), and North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA).
As an athlete and a coach, Dr. Loughead understands the demands placed on today’s performers. As a federally funded researcher, Dr. Loughead's goal is to discover ways to assist athletes and coaches achieve optimal performances.
Frank Ely
Instructor
Ithaca College
Dr. Frank Ely is an Instructor at Ithaca College (Ithaca, NY) in the Department of Exercise Science and Athletic Training, where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in sport, exercise, and performance psychology. Dr. Ely completed his Ph.D. (2023) at the University of Windsor (Ontario, Canada) wherein the development of the Online PST program was the focus of his dissertation research.
Dr. Ely’s research focuses on narrowing the research-to-practice gap in sport psychology by exploring ways to disseminate, translate, and implement research into practice. His passion for research lies in helping (para-)athletes and coaches both access information on psychological skills and apply strategies to effectively implement skills into practice and competition. He is an active member of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA) and the Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP).
In addition to teaching and research, Dr. Ely works with athletes and coaches to help them optimize their performance through psychological skills training, leadership education, and team-building activities. During his doctoral studies, Dr. Ely served as the High Performance Coach for the Track and Field and Cross Country teams at the University of Windsor, where he traveled with the team to the USPORTS National Championships in 2019, 2020, and 2023. He has also worked with youth, adult, NCAA, and USPORTS athletes across sports such as baseball, basketball, hockey, softball, soccer, swimming, and wrestling.
Jeffrey J. Martin
Professor
Wayne State University
Dr. Jeffrey J. Martin is a Professor in the Division of Kinesiology, Health, and Sport Studies at Wayne State University where he has been for the last 29 years.
He has published over 250 research articles and book chapters in sport and exercise psychology. He is the author of the Handbook of Disability Sport and Exercise Psychology published by Oxford University Press. His major research agenda has been on the psychosocial aspects of disability sport and physical activity, investigating topics ranging from performance enhancement for elite Paralympians to the role of physical activity in promoting quality of life for Wounded Warriors.
He has provided keynote addresses and lectures to audiences in Belgium, Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Thailand, and Turkey. He was the founding editor of Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, the official journal of Division 47 of the American Psychological Association. He is the current editor of the Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, a premier international journal for adapted physical activity and sport for individuals with disabilities.
Samantha D'Agostino
Ph.D. Student
University of Windsor
Samantha D’Agostino is a Ph.D. student in the Kinesiology Department at the University of Windsor (Ontario, Canada) specializing in sport and performance psychology. She is also a member of the Sport Psychology and Physical Activity Research Collaborative.
Samantha’s research interests focus on supporting athletes in the development of resilience and applying mental or psychological skills effectively to enhance their performance. As a NCAA athlete herself, Samantha has allowed her athletic experiences to guide her research interests and understanding how different psychological factors affect mental and physical performance outcomes.
She currently is the Sport Psychology Consultant for the Track and Field and Cross Country teams at the University of Windsor. Samantha also works with a multitude of youth, recreational, competitive, and USPORTS athletes and teams from a variety of sports including hockey, soccer, diving, and CrossFit. She also coaches’ girls’ youth soccer at a local club in Windsor, Ontario. Samantha is an active student member for the Canadian Sport Psychology Association (CSPA), Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) and the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA).